Reviewed as one of the finest small hotels in the Med, Scott's Four Star
Townhouse Hotel combines sophistication and prestige with
consistent high profitability. For many years, Scott's
has been included in all the best guidebooks and
top-ranked on the leading hospitality
and search sites on the web.
What Sort of Investment Appeals to You?
Some investments are just about the money. You put in what you can spare and if everything goes well you take out more later on.
Sort of like a building society or bank savings account. Safe and boring.
Nothing wrong with that. Every portfolio needs a fair chunk of safe and boring.
Other investments can be like a ride on a scary, rickety, about-to-fall-apart roller coaster. Want to bet on the FOREX currency exchanges or commodity markets? Fine if you can afford it, can afford to walk away from double digit losses and hope for a possible swing skyward to recoup your bad luck.
Despite the risks, we think every portfolio needs a bit of daring in it, too.
But some investments have a prestige and cachet attached to them that make them attractive to own and at the same time can combine safety with fun and fat profitability. Being a partner in a celebrated boutique hotel is one of those investments.
It's not risky like prestigious-but-precarious race horse ownership, or other such pursuits for the seriously rich; it's a solid property investment that combines income with an association of substance and understated distinction that makes it a pleasure to be a part of.
Why Scott's Hotel is On the Market in This New and Novel Way ...
Let me tell you the back story.
Last year my partner's doctor told her that she really had to retire, step back from almost twenty years running our delightful townhouse retreat and begin to take care of her own body with the same regard and consideration she has lavished on our guests for so long.
If not, he said, Judy would be cutting years off her life.
He doesn't think so much of me, either, in the health department, referring to me as an old goat who should stop behaving as though he's half the age he really is.
So reluctantly, but realistically, we put our hotel on the market in the usual way, listing it with two posh agents in London.
What a fiasco!
They sent us impoverished wannabes with no experience, no languages, and not a clue as to how to handle a prestigious clientele or run an establishment of our standards.
And almost all of them wanted us to finance them. A hundred percent, of course.
We also had a couple of ludicrous offers from predatory hotel chains, hoping to add to their portfolios on the cheap.
Worst of all, we were offered three suitcases full of cash from a set of nasty money launderers.
What was becoming clear to us was that we'd have to remain involved if we wanted the place to maintain its standing and reputation and renown.
Our dilemma was clear: the place had our name on it. We couldn't just sell it to anybody. We couldn't just sell and walk away.
How could we reconcile that with our doctor's demands?
Then two serendipitous elements crossed our path – two happy circumstances of finding exactly the things we needed at exactly the time we needed them.
First, we found a man whom we are in the process of contracting to advise and counsel us on the way forward, both in operations and in sales and marketing.
He's a graduate of Switzerland's most prestigious hotel school, with experience at the Ritz in Paris, at Claridges in London, who was in a senior management position in Richard Branson's flagship hotel here in Spain, and later was solely responsible for filling another prominent 5-star hotel on Mallorca to the level of 70% in its first year. (At prices double those of our hotel!)
He's someone who can charm guests or suppliers or reviewers in four languages, but who also knows the nuts and bolts of the hospitality trade down to the most insignificant detail. And God – as we say of all the arts that depend on making hotel guests contented and happy – is in the details.
With this man allied to us, Judy and I can look forward to still being involved, to still being able to greet and catch up with so many of our guests who return to us year after year, but without having to be on the pointy end all the time. Happy relief.
And to complete our practical needs, in our second stroke of luck we found a firm that is able to go out and look for the partners we want and need in order to step back financially, retire the mortgage, pay off a couple of our other private houses, finance a new business our son is interested in, and take out some of what we've invested over the years.
Which is how you got here, why you're reading this.
Something Stable, Sensible, Lucrative,
and Something To Be Proud Of ...
As I said above, some investments are more equal than others.
This is an investment with class, something you can talk about with pride to friends or colleagues. We are looking for partners, not just investors.
We want people who will take satisfaction in being part of our little club of shareholders, who'll give us honest feedback on what we're doing, wrong or right, who'll mention us to other potential visitors, help us maintain our current high profitability, and who can visit us as friends for up to a month every year.
Because that's one of the perks of this investment: up to £5,000 worth of accommodation on its own, or £5,000 to apply to accommodation worth up to £13,500.
In addition, of course, to an 11/14% cumulative income stream.
With the safety of having invested in a prime property at or near the bottom of the market.
And with the prospect of a substantial uplift in your investment when we find the ideal buyer for the property at some point in the future – perhaps even our trusted advisor, described above.
When you stay in "your" hotel you'll meet charming, sophisticated guests, some of them famous, almost all of them interesting to talk to. I've been introduced to a number of profitable business opportunities by our guests, successful people attracted by our handmade, oversized beds with goosedown pillows, Ralph Lauren's best sheets and breakfasts until noon, by our discretion, by our location off the beaten tourist track, by our policy of treating everyone as special. As one man who carries the title of Prince once said to us, "I like the fact that you treat everyone who visits here like royalty, but people with family claims on royalty as nothing special or different."
It's a pleasure to be considered special and exclusive but comfortable and homelike all at once.
Here are a few of the reviews we've received:
The Sunday Times of London asked renowned hotel critic Alistair Sawday to name his six favourite hideaway hotels in the Mediterranean. Scott's was one of them. (And the only one on Mallorca).
"Elegant, luxurious, refined ... incomparable bedrooms."
Rivages Guide to Small Hotels of Charm
"One of the finest hotels I know in terms of comfort and discreet but warm service."
The New York Times
"A little jewel box, a rarity among hotels – one that doesn't feel like a hotel, look like a hotel, or offer the dry and standardised service of most hotels."
Condé Nast Traveller
"Luxurious, refined, elegant ... incomparable bedrooms."
Rivages Guide to Charming Hotels
"At Scott's, nothing disappoints: the interior is as calm, sophisticated and unobtrusively luxurious as you could wish . . . a pampering treat."
Charming Small Hotels Guide
" . . . a night at Scott's is an experience to remember."
Special Places to Stay
"One of the most comfortable and elegant small hotels in the Mediterranean."
Mediterranean Travel Review
"Scott's is a gem of a place – a fabulously restored mansion where the emphasis is firmly on comfort. Located in the heart of Mallorca's wine country."
Gourmet
"A luxury bed, pure cotton percale sheets, goose-down pillows, antique lace curtains and a fine Persian rug – I certainly felt at ease in my suite, gazing through the French windows at the flowery patio down below."
The Independent
Small Elegant Hotels, A Connoisseur's Guide: Scott's is one of only three hotels listed for the whole of Spain.
Great Places to Stay in Europe: Features Scott's.
About Hotels Guide: Scott's was named as one of their very few "Fabulous Finds".
But Are We Really Even a Hotel?
One famous travel journal doesn't think so. "Not like any standard hotel you've probably ever stayed in. More like having good friends with taste and a wonderful staff lend you their beautiful house for a few days. You have your own key to the front door, you make yourself completely at home, pour your drinks the way you like them, luxuriate in the big handmade beds with down pillows and top quality sheets, enjoy late breakfasts, eat well at their new grill restaurant on the corner and allow your hosts to give you insider tips on places to go, things to see, secret beaches, off the radar pleasures, things you'd never find out about by yourself.
Think designer B & B in the upmarket style – a sophisticated townhouse mansion, both civilised and thoroughly satisfying."
We agree with that review, not because of the praise, but because we don't consider ourselves to be like a typical hotel – someone even called us "a refuge for people who hate hotels."
And oh, and did I mention – we're pretty much a smoke-free and TV-free zone. Most of our rooms are non-smoking, and although we can put a TV in people's rooms, most guests seem to prefer not to have one. We have one in the bar so guests can catch up on the news.
Part of one of the suites ...
"Heaven! I've rarely stayed any place so wholly satisfying. Everywhere is beautiful, with pretty details (candles among the plants and flowers on the patio at night). The oversized beds are a marvel, the goosedown pillows wonderful. Delicious breakfast, served until noon. The owners were charming hosts, appearing and fading like the Cheshire Cat – just enough to let us know they were there, but never intrusively."
The Good Hotel Guide, describing our townhouse
We know we're doing something right when people book us
for next year as they go out the door this year.
Diran Noubar's List of the World's Fifty Best Small Hotels includes Scott's.
(Frankly, we think this is plain silly, but there's no way I'm not going to tell you about it.)
Modern or traditional – every bedroom is individually styled.
The Offer That Can Put What You've Been Reading
About Within Reach ...
Recently we thought we had an appropriate and qualified purchaser, but that sale fell through after a difficult process of our buyer struggling with problems with the business he was selling in order to acquire ours.
In today's climate, it's difficult to find financing, even for solid businesses with a successful history and positive upside potential.
Recently, however, as I said above, we had the good fortune to run into both someone with the experience and knowledge to be able to help us maintain our long track record of financial success, and maintain our standards and reputation.
We also found representatives capable of finding us a number of sophisticated investors, some of whom have already come on board.
But we, our company, and our representatives, are looking for a few more investors.
We are seeking investors looking for a solid, conservative, but at the same time a significantly profitable investment, one that will return between 11/14% per year over the next few years, according to the global hotel consulting company that did a viability study for us.
And your investment is secured in the form of the value of our lovely 18th century townhouse, assessed only 18 months ago at 2 million euros more than today's price for the shares.
What's on offer is a percentage of the equity, secured by the value of the property, paying dividends and offering free accommodation every year, a valuable bonus perk.
Only a portion of the shares will be offered on this basis, because we, too, are keeping a shareholding in the place, a proof of our own confidence in our new advisor's capacity to guide us toward making the place even more successful than it has been in the past.
So if your portfolio would benefit from an investment that's safe but not boring, exciting but not risky, based on a fifteen year track record of success, backed by the property value of one of the finest and solidest boutique hotels in the Mediterranean, and offering you the bonus of generous holidays there every year, then look no further, you've found Scott's Townhouse Lease and Sharehold Scheme.
We may be exactly what you're looking for.
The Nuts and Bolts of the Hotel ...
Open
All year
Accommodation
6 suites, 12 doubles/twins, two available as singles at a 25% discount
Facilities
2 sitting rooms with self-service drinks tray, bar with satellite TV, breakfast room (classical background music)
Swimming pool with swimjet and massage jets
Patio, courtyard, 2 sun terraces
Air-conditioning, heating, individually controlled
Free parking adjacent
Unsuitable for severely disabled
Location
Historic wine centre 20 km from the island's capital, a medieval town of 5,000
Sandy beaches 20 minutes drive
Mountains 10 minutes
Coves, caves, marinas, sailing, rock climbing, walking, pretty drives, cycling, a microlight airfield, wine tours and fine dining all at hand or within easy reach
Restrictions
Smoking on the outdoor terraces, the bar and patio only
Children welcome from the age of 12
Credit cards
Visa, MasterCard, Amexco
Terms
Minimum stay 2 nights
Breakfast included
Singles 131/154 Euros
Doubles/twins 175/315 Euros
Suites 270/410 Euros
Plus local taxes of 7%
To sum up ...
If this information speaks to you, drop me a line at myhideawayinspain@gmail.com.
The hotel was valued within the last two years at over 5 million euros. This special offer totals less than half that amount.
The next step is up to you. If you are ready to reach out and seize a golden opportunity, this is your chance to do so.
If you would like to explore this offer in greater depth, it's within your grasp to do so. I would welcome you to visit our hotel, as our guest, to discuss the proposition in detail.
If you choose to avail yourself of this invitation, I look forward to meeting you, and hope you might prove to be a kindred spirit, someone we would welcome as a partner.
Warm wishes,
George (Scott for Scott's Hotels & Restaurants)
PS A little bit more detail about us:
Judy grew up in Kent, London and Suffolk. Privately educated, she worked at the BBC after graduation, subsequently leaving to set up a private consultancy in architectural design, mainly concentrating in work on historic houses in England. For sixteen years, she was a Director of the Carr Foundation, a charitable institution devoted to stress alleviation education. After a move to Spain for rheumatic reasons, she founded a company devoted to hostelry, restaurant management and architectural makeovers. Her two grown children run the cafe/grill close by to the Townhouse.
George financed three university degrees by washing pots and pans and selling books door-to-door. The film he wrote and directed for his Fine Arts degree won the Hollywood Screen Directors Guild prize for Best Documentary of the year. In his thirties he worked with the World Wildlife Fund and then later started a stress education charity and ran it with Judy. In due course, the cost of educating children made money relevant and so he began trading in gold and silver, developing property, and launching an earth resources satellite. After a move to Spain, hotels and restaurants followed, plus two mystery novels, one of which became "Book of the Month" for Germany's biggest book club. George and Judy's son and younger daughter run a restaurant close to the townhouse hotel. His eldest daughter, a poet, and published author whose work is featured regularly on BBC Radio 4, lives in Dorset with her husband and two children.